34 days...

Some of you may or may not like to know, that it is Christmas in 33 days.

Quite frankly I am dreading it.

I have had a foreboding feeling most of the week if I am honest, thinking that in just 34 days the hobbits will be off again to Spain.

They are of course, very excited about seeing their Spanish family again and their Dad, but I remember how awful the summer holiday was without them. It was, quite honestly, bloody torture.

This time it won't be as long as the hell of six weeks in the summer of 2012 and will be just twelve days, and of course people say to me, 'hey this is your time, your break from it all'. But to be honest, I don't need that long a break from them. The odd evening or weekend is just fine; anything longer than that makes me feel sick.

They may drive me a bit scatty at times with their constant demands...however, as I have mentioned before, not everyone sees the love they give and the warmth of just being with them is priceless.

So come Boxing Day we will be flying out again, and I will do a quick turn around and come back on the afternoon flight...on my own. (Insert violin music here and a vision of a sad Wondering Woman trudging back through baggage reclaim.)

I do, of course have my friends who will be supportive...but over Christmas everyone has things to do with their own families, so it is not always appropriate for me to hang around like a bad smell at their respective houses.

Maybe I should take a look a little holiday myself; last minute.com and backpack for a bit, bugger off to Scotland for Hogmanay (never visited Scotland before), or order my CD's into alphabetical order?

Anything that keeps me busy until the 7th January and they come home again.